Customs Department Resumes Import Process for Goods Lacking MRP

Bhairahawa. The Customs Department has resumed the customs process for imported foreign goods that were held up due to the absence of Maximum Retail Price (MRP).

The import system, which had been affected at the Bhairahawa checkpoint for a few days, is gradually becoming smoother, according to the Bhairahawa Customs Office. The import process, which was halted due to the mandatory requirement of mentioning MRP at the customs point, has been restarted following a new decision by the department.

The Customs Department has made arrangements to allow immediate import if the importer provides a written self-declaration stating that labels with details such as MRP, brand, and expiry date will be affixed to the imported goods before they are sold and distributed in the market. The Bhairahawa Customs Office has stated that the release of held-up goods has begun following this decision.

Harihar Poudel, Chief of the Bhairahawa Customs Office, said that the import process has resumed after receiving information regarding facilitation from the department. According to him, the held-up goods are being released rapidly after obtaining written commitment and self-declaration from the importers at the customs office.

An information officer at the Bhairahawa Customs Office stated that importers have been demanding to be allowed to affix labels with details like MRP at their own warehouses, and based on this, facilitation is currently being provided.

As per the letter from the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, and Supplies dated Chaitra 30, the Department of Commerce issued a 15-day notice, after which the import of goods without MRP was stopped at customs from Baishakh 14. Subsequently, the import process through the Bhairahawa checkpoint was affected.

Importers had objected, stating that the rule was implemented in a short period, that it was not possible to immediately label goods already ordered abroad, and that there were practical difficulties in affixing MRP at the customs point for some goods. Due to these reasons, many cargo vehicles and goods were held up at customs and on the way. Madhuprasad Panthi, Chairman of the Nepal Customs Agents Association, Siddharthanagar, informed that the goods of more than 900 cargo vehicles were held up at the Bhairahawa checkpoint due to the Maximum Retail Price (MRP).

Businessmen say that the rule of mentioning MRP, brand, and expiry date could particularly affect the Biratnagar, Birgunj, Tatopani, and Kerung checkpoints, which import heavily from China and third countries. The Bhairahawa checkpoint, however, is considered a major route for industrial raw materials and daily trade imports from India.